Gopal Subramanian controversy underlines the need for National Judicial Commission
The unsavory controversy about the appointment of the Gopal Subramanian as the judge of the Supreme Court was avoidable. However, this further underscores the need for the National Judicial Commission for the selection of the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court. In fact it has become almost imperative in the present circumstances. The way the appointment of the eminent lawyer was turned down by the Executive has compelled the people to consider over this matter with all seriousness that it deserves. India is perhaps the one and the only major democratic country in the world where the judiciary has appropriated the right to appoint judges for the High Courts and the Supreme Court. In all other countries, the appointments are done by the Executive, mostly in consultation with the judges of the top courts. In India the Supreme Court has made it a law by the judicial pronouncement that judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court can be appointed the collegiums system,...